WDWGetaways - Jennifer Todden

09/09/2024

🚨 New Ship! 🚨

We can book Disney Destiny starting in TWO days!

07/09/2024

A peek behind the scenes in my travel agent work: quoting a family with multiple cabins for several different cruise options! I have some online tools I use to narrow down a search, but I often rely on good old pen and paper as I look up specific pricing for each individual cruise. Because I’ve been doing this awhile, I’m able to navigate each cruise line’s TA site pretty quickly and I can usually get quotes for multiple lines done in a couple of hours. All part of the job and an example of how I’m working for my clients before they even have a confirmed reservation!

04/09/2024

Check out my new T-shirt from Carnival! Cruises are one of my favorite things to book for clients since there are so many to choose from.

30/08/2024

Hi all!

We’re back from Japan and I’ve caught up on some sleep as well as my email - I’ll be spending some time tomorrow working through new quote requests and updating info for my late-September travelers.

Appreciate your patience and I hope you enjoyed following along on our trip! I’ll have more to say about our experience in the coming days as well.

28/08/2024

Tokyo DisneySea was amazing! A must-do for any Disney fan and unlike any other Disney theme park I’ve visited. From the theming to the attractions to the snacks - we all loved it. Here are just a few of our photos!

25/08/2024

Today Zach and I went to a Japanese baseball game featuring the Tokyo Giants vs the Dragons. We didn’t realize when we bought our tickets that we were in the “cheering” section. This meant that every time the Giants were up to bat, the whole section stood up and did an elaborate set of cheers. There were guys waving flags and an official leader of the cheers, and all the fans knew each one of the specific cheers. About halfway through, we realized a lot of the cheers were “Let’s go (player name)” or “Let’s Go Giants” - I found it interesting that the cheers were half in English! It reminded me a lot of sitting in the student section of the Gator football games back in grad school. It was a fun experience, and I’m glad we added it to our Japan list!

22/08/2024

Another thing we have learned here in Japan is that you need to carry around some pocket cash with you for things like subway tickets, shave ice, snacks from street vendors and the ubiquitous vending machines. While some places that sell these items take cards or tap pay, it’s much less common than in a big city in the states or Europe. A coin purse is helpful, as coins come in a bunch of varieties up to 500 yen (about $3). There are ATMs everywhere, so it’s easy to withdraw cash from your bank account here with decent exchange rates.

21/08/2024

If you're looking for a little Disney magic in 2025, might I suggest Disneyland in California? With only two parks and a smaller footprint, Disneyland Resort is a great long weekend, first Disney trip with littles, or just a quick way to get your Mickey fix. We can book 2025 packages now!

✉️ [email protected]

✨✨ It's time for more magic! ✨ ✨

Starting on August 21st we can book 2025 packages to the Disneyland Resort!! Next year will be a great time to introduce your family to Radiator Springs Racers and the Incredicoaster!! 🎢 OR it's time to revisit your favorites and experience the nostalgia of the original Happiest Place on Earth! Who's ready?? 🏰

20/08/2024

A few photos from our day in Kyoto, including the Chion-In temple grounds and a visit to the samurai museum!

20/08/2024

Getting around Kyoto has been pretty easy once we figured out how to read the subway fare chart. You look for where you are (“This Station”) and then find the station you want to go to. The number in black is the adult cost for a ticket. Buy your ticket at a machine, and head through the turnstile. Platforms and next trains are clearly marked in both Japanese and English. Keep your ticket - you’ll need it to exit the station!

19/08/2024

Today has just been a loooooong travel day but we’ve arrived safely in Japan and we’ve learned a few things along the way!

We landed about an hour later than scheduled at Tokyo’s Haneda airport - total flying time from Chicago was just over 13 hours, and relatively uneventful. Japanese immigration/customs is a bit of a process! You have to fill out an online form first and generate a QR code. Then, you get your photo taken and fingerprints read. Then you go through a passport check, followed by scanning your passport and QR code at a kiosk, and then you go out through a customs gate. There weren’t too many people in front of us, but the whole thing took us about an hour.

Then, since we are heading to Kyoto right away, we decided to ship our luggage ahead to our hotel. The fast bullet trains (Shinkansen) between cities don’t have room for lots of big luggage, so you either have to reserve a place for your suitcase or ship it. Luckily, shipping is pretty inexpensive- about $15/bag - and they’ll get it to us tomorrow. So we just stuffed a change of clothes in our carryons and then headed to the subway to get to the Shinkansen station.

The subway from the airport took us about 25 minutes, and then it’s a 2-hour fast train ride to Kyoto, where we will be home basing for a few nights. We’ve already encountered our first Japanese toilets and had fun trying a few drinks out of a vending machine, but I’m definitely looking forward to a shower, food and a flat surface after a marathon travel day today!

16/08/2024

Hi all! I'll be out of the office starting this weekend until the end of the month - my family and I are headed to JAPAN for our family vacation!

While I'll still check emails and respond to clients who are traveling, my response time for non-urgent requests may be a bit delayed while we're gone.

I'll be posting photos and tips as time permits, so I hope you'll follow along here. Otherwise, I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone when we're back stateside at the end of the month.

15/08/2024

We’re always fans of theme park vacations when food is included! Let me know if you’re interested in a trip to Universql this fall and we can get started.

❗️BRAND NEW DINING OFFER FROM Universal Orlando!!! ❗️

For a limited time, you can receive a dining card up to $1000 in value when you book your next Universal Orlando vacation package!! 🥨🍺🍕

You must have a minimum 4-night stay at select Universal Orlando Resort Hotels and pair it with certain ticket packages to take advantage of this DELICIOUS offer!

Contact your WDWGetaways team member for details and pricing! 📲

14/07/2024

I've had a busy couple of days wrapping up some client trips, quoting some new ones, and getting caught up on my inbox.

Here's what I've been working on!
✅ Walt Disney World trip quotes for 2025
✅ Two Hawaii trip quotes, one for 2024 and one for 2025
✅ Booking tours and activities for two different clients headed to Europe in the next several weeks
✅ Updating itineraries for recently-booked clients
✅ Double-checking all the details for a client headed to Cancun next week
✅ Booked a client's Mexico trip for 2025
✅ Booked a client's trip to Cape Cod for 2024
✅ Sending final payment reminders for fall 2024 clients
✅ Sending final documents to my late July 2024 cruisers
✅ Finding a booked client a deal on a stateroom upgrade for an upcoming cruise

So much of what I do happens behind the scenes in support of YOU having your best trip ever!

Now I'm off to enjoy the rest of my Sunday - happy weekend, y'all!

30/06/2024

We’re back in the USA and after some much-needed coffee, I’ll be spending today heading back home, getting unpacked and catching up on emails! Thanks for following along on our trip and I’ll be fully back in the office and working on client trips starting tomorrow, July 1.

29/06/2024

I know sometimes it’s hard for parents to get away without kids but I am here to tell you: TAKE THE TRIP. Enjoy the time away without schedules, with fewer responsibilities, and time spent with your partner. One of the best things we have done in a long, long time.

28/06/2024

This trip was a first for me - a long driving trip through Europe. For all of my previous trips, I’ve been a train traveler: Europe’s trains and buses make public transit a great option, even on a long trip. We chose to drive on this trip for two reasons: first, we wanted the flexibility to set our own schedule and second, we had a couple of “out-of-the-way” spots we wanted to visit (plus we found a couple random suprises, like this rest stop view in Austria)!

While it was manageable, I found driving to be somewhat stressful: many Europeans like to drive FAST (there’s really no speed limit on the Autobahn!), and it’s harder to relax and see the scenery when you’re worried about keeping the car on the road. Plus, with what we paid for the car, gas, tolls and parking - we could have purchased a couple of first-class rail passes (gas averaged about $8/gallon on this trip). I did love that we had zero schedule though, and could pack a bit heavier than normal.

Would I do it again? Sure! But I think my European travel dreams are better fulfilled by train.

26/06/2024

Can you guess where I am? Hint: it’s a museum built for speed.

26/06/2024

Exciting news for guests headed to Walt Disney World later this year! If you’re already booked, I’ll be in touch with you soon to discuss these exciting changes!

And if you aren’t booked yet, what are you waiting for? Let’s chat!

📧[email protected]

24/06/2024

Every so often on a trip, something unexpected and/or lucky happens! We stopped by Florence on our way through Tuscany today, figuring we’d have a look around but knowing that we wouldn’t get to see the famous art since the Ufizzi is closed on Mondays. We arrived in Florence to find out that it was a feast day (the Feast of St John the Baptist) and the Ufizzi had special opening hours! There was NO LINE for the ticket office and the museum, while not empty, was delightfully uncrowded. We spent a happy 90 minutes perusing some of the best Renaissance art Italy has to offer.

24/06/2024

When in Italy….even on a trip by car….you’ll walk more stairs than you think! Bring your good shoes and a bag that’s easy to carry!

23/06/2024

Traveling by train in Italy is super easy, comfortable and relatively inexpensive. It cost us 9 euro each way to buy a ticket today for an hour-long train ride down the coast on one of Italy’s fast trains. Booking a ticket is as simple as using a touch screen machine in the station, inserting your credit card, and collecting your ticket. Check the departures board for your platform and hop on!

23/06/2024

An Italian vacation doesn’t have to be about museums and cities and crowds…plenty of beaches to enjoy as well!

22/06/2024

A tip on how to find the best gelato in Italy: look for the shops that store the gelato in metal tins with lids. The brightly-colored plastic tubs may catch your eye and look pretty, but chances are that gelato is older and/or pre-made. The metal tins keep the gelato out of the air and therefore- fresher. My favorite combo is pistachio and chocolate.

22/06/2024

Sunrise on Lake Como

21/06/2024

Scenes from Varenna, on Lake Como in Italy. This area is famous for the romantic vibe it exudes, and has been a favorite of honeymooners for two centuries.

21/06/2024

One of the things I like about traveling is trying different snacks and candy. Thought these tropical fruit Haribo looked interesting - what do you like to try when you travel?

20/06/2024

Hard to get tired of these views!

20/06/2024

Coffee with a view this morning.

18/06/2024

Anybody else do concourse laps when you’ve got time to kill at the airport? Just me?